Unions’ lack of unified support for Alvarez or Fletcher could mean trouble if runoff occurs

The unified political might of labor unions catapulted Bob Filner into the San Diego Mayor’s Office last fall, but the labor community is decidedly split in the contest to replace him.

The infighting over whether to back City Councilman David Alvarez or former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, both Democrats aggressively courting union support, could result in a distinct advantage for Councilman Kevin Faulconer, the lone major Republican and the biggest threat to labor’s agenda in the race.

With former Mayor Bob Filner’s resignation following a sexual harassment scandal, it’s widely presumed that no one will win a majority in the Nov. 19 special election, which means the top two finishers will duke it out in a runoff likely to be held in February. Most analysts expect Faulconer to nab one of those spots given the Republicans cleared the field for him, so the real battle is over who will join him — Alvarez, Fletcher or someone else?

Union strategists must now weigh how far they will go in campaigning for their favored candidate. Going on the attack against either of the two front-running Democrats risks torpedoing their respective chances of winning the runoff against Faulconer.

“The problem right now is that it is disorganized labor not being able to rally behind a single candidate,” said Carl Luna, a Mesa College political science professor. “Will Democrats follow the Ronald Reagan rule and not speak ill of one another? If they spend all their time attacking the other guy on their side, they are only going to make Mr. Faulconer’s campaign for him.”

The schism in the labor community revolves around Fletcher, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year as a Republican with an anti-labor record before leaving the party midrace to run as an independent. I

n May, he announced he had registered as a Democrat and has since espoused pro-labor viewpoints on several issues.

Voting record

Democratic political consultant Chris Crotty said Fletcher’s biggest problem with rank-and-file union members is his record of voting against labor 82 percent of the time when he was a Republican in the Assembly.

“They question his commitment,” Crotty said.

Mickey Kasparian, the head of the United Food and Commercial Workers, said Fletcher’s past votes trouble many union leaders.

“Quite frankly, Nathan Fletcher’s record has been poor when it comes to working families,” he said.

The battle for union endorsements has been frenzied over the past couple of weeks, since Alvarez entered the race at the urging of some labor leaders. Alvarez has the backing of the influential San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, which spent millions on Filner last year and recently opened a political-action committee to do the same for Alvarez.

“The council is solidified and all in on David,” said Kasparian, who noted Alvarez’s consistent voting record on labor issues. “He is one of the only candidates who is truly concerned about neighborhoods and working families. I see labor totally behind him and expect there will be a significant budget for him. We will get boots on the ground and we have a great strategy in place.”